Benefit to concierge?

[MELSMICE]

We have never stayed in a concierge room. What are the benefits to staying concierge level?

 

[Eeyore1954]

You mean besides giving more $$ to Disney...

Seriously, concierge offers food and beverage service for meals, but in some resorts it may not be enough for a full meal. In between times, they offer snacks and beverages.

You have the concierge staff who can handle PS requests, check availability on shows, arrange tickets, ship your souveniers home for you -- in essence, take care of your needs and desires.

Concierge floor usually has a lounge area -- BC offered some limited seating with a TV.

In Nov. my DW and I stayed at BC and for some reason we were bumped to concierge (we did not pay for it, didn't ask to upgrade; our "package" was a standard view room and LOS pass only). It was a nice treat, but I don't think for what we did it would have justified the extra expense had we paid for it. It's nice, but you have to figure ways to really utilize the services to make it worth the expense. JMO.

 

[Tikiman]

I agree that concierge should not be looked at as a cost saver but it could end up saving you time and money. Here is my break down.

10 days at WDW

every morning except for usually 2 we eat at the concierge lounge.
Savings = approx $30 for 2 people. $30 for 8 mornings= $240 saved on the trip.

Every day we would stock up on bottled water (not offered at all conicerge) and soda.
Savings= 4 bottles min each day and 2 sodas each day per person. Water $2 soda $2.
$120 saved on the trip.

Not adding up the wine, deserts, food, and fruit we would get we already saved $360 min.

Some evenings we would have a quick bite instead of dinner.

We could get reservations with concierge that would otherwise be unavailable.

We had a secure building.

Check in was much easier.

We had robes.

We had a lounge to relax in after a hard day.

These are just some of the things I can come up with right now.

Here is my page outlining the Polynesian concierge to give you an idea and pictures of what it is like.

http://tikiman2001.homestead.com/conciergeservice.html

 

[Tikiman]

I agree that concierge should not be looked at as a cost saver but it could end up saving you time and money. Here is my break down.

10 days at WDW

every morning except for usually 2 we eat at the concierge lounge.
Savings = approx $30 for 2 people. $30 for 8 mornings= $240 saved on the trip.

Every day we would stock up on bottled water (not offered at all conicerge) and soda.
Savings= 4 bottles min each day and 2 sodas each day per person. Water $2 soda $2.
$120 saved on the trip.

Not adding up the wine, deserts, food, and fruit we would get we already saved $360 min.

Some evenings we would have a quick bite instead of dinner.

We could get reservations with concierge that would otherwise be unavailable.

We had a secure building.

Check in was much easier.

We had robes.

We had a lounge to relax in after a hard day.

These are just some of the things I can come up with right now.

Here is my page outlining the Polynesian concierge to give you an idea and pictures of what it is like.

http://tikiman2001.homestead.com/conciergeservice.html

 

[Richyams]

All the help, snacks, and other stuff is nice.....worth it?

Is a Cadilac worth more than a Kia? They both get you from here to there, they both do it in the same amount of time, the Cadilac uses more gas to do it, I would think that the Kia is actually worth more since it does the same thing on less gas.....there are people who will pay more for the Caddie.

Being DVC members, we don't really stay anywhere but DVC resorts. We did the AKL concierge a couple months ago. If we ever stay at a resort(non-DVC) it will always be concierge.

We will be arriving in the Poly concierge this Friday.

 

[mkymouse4ever]

This is very debatable! We had our 1st experience with a "free" upgrade at YC but really did not use it that much. Our room was extremely the farthest it could of been from lounge, & it was one of our earlier trips so we spent more time at parks. What we did use was the coke and water only. So no I would not pay for that there.

Since then we have stayed at the Poly GV conc. And since it is comparable in cost to the LV rooms at the poly which we usually get it is worth getting for us. We get the fridge, the pop, water, the occassional cookie, or snack, but usually did not hit the food (times off?), but do like the location of the building. GV gets the quiet pool view which we like & is also very near the main pool, also seems very close to main buildings in comparison to the non-smoking LV room in tahiti we usually got, which is a good brisk walk everywhere.

We have stayed in the CR tower club this is a total rip off and unless you need real security is not worth anything. no pop, water, etc.. we were not even offered fridge, you have to ask for it. Only offered cookies, rice krispie treats sometimes, tea, coffee, milk, lemonade, cold cereal, and danish. Now the 14th floor we definately want to try, but VERY expensive so will do eventually but for only a couple of days.(hopefully, someday). That is the full concerige the CR provides and is supposed to be wonderful!

Anyway, is it worth it? We always thought we must be missing out on something reading these boards, but in the real truth, I rather feel uncomfortable hanging out in the lounges. If you have a larger family and "meet" there or go year after year and "know" people I suppose you don't feel that way, but otherwise we just kind of felt like at a party you don't know people at, and your crashing it and eating their food. Of course this is IMHO.

MKY

 

[JoBP117]

going to WDW without our kids, we would not have done the WL concierge like we did this past December (we stayed 3 nights). I can't imagine it would be worth the extra cost (if you are paying full rate) for 2 people - especially if you are tight on $$ to spend. I couldn't have justified it for us (and our budget).

However, we have 3 small kids (age 5 and under) and the convenience of concierge made our trip so much more enjoyable. We had the breakfast in the morning (which - in several trips - we brought to the room), took water and hot chocolate and snacks with us to the parks (they had travel cups) and then with the parks closing early in the evening we made it back in time to enjoy a light dinner. One day we were at the hotel all day and enjoyed the food all day long.

Just being able to walk down the hall to get what we needed was wonderful versus having to go to the lobby to Roaring Forks or other places.

With all milk, water, pop & hot chocolate my family consumed and of course, the food (which was varied and wonderful!), it was SO worth the additional cost!!

Okay, so besides the food & convenience, what else was great about it? They were able to get PS for Chef Mickey's (and some other places) after I had been calling to get them (and being told there was nothing available when we wanted it). It was nice to turn it over to them and have them make the arrangements.

Check in was super fast and it was nice having a fridge in our room. The robe was great (I wore it to the pool).

I really thought concierge was perfect for our family of 5 and so pleased with how much it added to making our vacation that much more magical!

 

[adams66]

It is so nice to hear from a family with small kids! We are going to be at the Poly Concierge next week - can't stand the wait! Just when I start to think that I am maybe "splurging" unnecessarily, I read the previous post and think "WOW, I am so smart to be splurging on concierge" Seriously, though, thanks for the reply JoBP117, you make me feel so much better!

As for the OP, I will let you know my opinions on the "value" of concierge when we return at the end of the month.

 

[las3888]

We were offerred concierge when we checked into WL last May for $30 or $40 more a night (can't remember exactly what the amount was anymore). For us, it was a dollars-and-cents issue. We didn't feel we would eat and drink the extra $ worth. The food isn't really a meal, and DH and I like a big breakfast once in a while, especially on vacation. We also didn't want to feel strapped to the hotel's side to come back and eat a light lunch or dinner there to get our money's worth. We opted out and it was the right decision for us. I think for those with kids, I could see where it might make more sense. Then, there are those who money is no object and they like the extra pampering...

 

[>>^..^<<]

The pre-trip itinerary planning is fun... imagine a CM calling to say how they are looking forward to your arrival and wondering if there is anything at all.. little or big that they can do for you.

Concierge at AKL was able to get me coveted PS's for breakfast with cinderella.. this is 2 months after it was sold out.

I also had concierge arrange pillow gifts for my daughter - Don from the AKL IPO shopped for 9 safari animal beanie babies and had one placed on her pillow every night for the 9 nights we were there.

Concierge adds an extra dimension to your holiday - you really feel pampered and cared about and like VIP when you whiz past everyone else for your private check in.

Also the convenienceof the snacks and refreshments available to you - saves alot of time in the morning and makes the eveing very pleasant.. even if just to stop by for a coke and relax.

When I stayed at a Disney Moderate - Port Orleans French quarter - I always felt like I was on my own and no one was looking out for me or really cared..... concierge is a whole other story... to me it is worth the extra $ for the enjoyment value.

 

[hvsteve1]

Whether it's worth it depends on your lifestyle. We are two adults a little short of being considered seniors. In early 2002 we stayed concierge at AKL,BW and GF. AKL was the most elaborate. A lot of free food,including three small buffets enough to make a meal. We were at WDW for 8 days and never bought a breakfast. The lounge is also a good substitute for adults who might want to have a drink in the bar. AKL and BW had cordials,wine and desserts in the evening. From the BW lounge you could stand on the balcony and watch the Illuminations fireworks. When we were to have some family stop by to visit us at BW,we took some refreshments back to the room earlier in the day and asked about borrowing some glassware. They said to let them take care of it and,when we got to the room later in the evening, there were glasses,plates,napkins...the whole setup. The CMs at BW were like mother hens and kept urging us not to leave the lounge empty handed as we would surely need bottled woter and such later on,

Note that we originally booked concierge because BW and GF were offering deals during the off season. AKL was a fairly inexpensive upgrade when we checked in. All three were worth it for us because we probably spend more time at the resort than younger families who are in the parks from opening to close.